Our Strolls Together

October 18, 2014

Wandering through the wilderness. In these last few days I’ve grasped more fully the enormity of God in the wilderness… of this earth and of our journey on it.

My prairie heart embraces open expanses, wild flowers and grasses waving rib-high, creek melodies beneath the green canopy of summer wood. This tall grass wandering… it’s what I know. It is where heart lyrics give rise. It feeds the soul as I tune to God’s whisper on the breeze. The cares of the world sweep freely to horizon blue. The monarch dances before me, and I smile full.

Of desert wilderness I have known nothing… except perhaps that wilderness of the heart when life has pierced our tender enclaves.

Now I leave a bit of heart in the desert wilderness… where God unveiled before me majesty, beauty and power I’d not imagined.

First glimpses evoked awe. My boys and I had promised our family this was the year for us to discover the desert, western mountains, the Grand Canyon. In the busyness that is life, our plans changed... schedules had to shift… dreams stayed ahead of us unopened.

And the message buzzed my phone. “He’s gone.” The future became the unrealized past without ever pausing to be the present.

As I tapped out the words of a life’s memorial, I struggled to grasp letters and sentences to capture the essence of one who lived boldly. I understood with greater enormity that life’s moments are gifts we offer, we open, or we lose.

In some small way, seizing this moment… this time… was a gift of honor I could offer. It was a lesson I could live out for my own sons. And so our eyes fell upon mountain ranges, and these boots stepped out upon desert sand. Awe became our lens.

For a little boy, even water plenty was not enough to entirely quench the thirst of the desert. Poured passed tender lips, trickled down rosy skin... still, there was an intensity about this wilderness climb that bore down. Yet the dry breeze was cool refreshment. Breathtaking vistas removed all thought of rigor.

We climbed. We marveled. We rested. We discovered. We shared. We breathed that life moment.

As we journeyed, we were reminded of Moses and his people in the desert wandering… not for hours or days, but decades. Not with water bottles and packaged snacks but wholly the provision of God. And we had a path. We wouldn’t be lost. Until we were. And in a place of such extremes our own known ways were no longer sufficient.

I am glad that along the way we paused to soak in this desert place and all we were learning together. We spoke again of Moses… about persevering… about being open to something new no matter how great the challenge… about God’s provision and direction. Living boldly.

The next day we said goodbye as a family to a man who sought to live life fully. And when the morning came again we gathered to worship. And the sermon? Moses and his people in the wilderness. God knows my own willfulness, and so He is patient to speak lessons until I hear.

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.” Joshua 1: 7 (NIV).

“The Lord said to Joshua, 'Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.” Joshua 10:8 (NIV).

Joshua believed in God’s providence so boldly and fearlessly while wandering the desert that he asked God to stop the sun. And He did. He stopped the sun that through Joshua’s victory His power and provision would be known. He stopped the sun because Joshua was bold and confident in his prayer.

So I’ve tasted of the desert wilderness… and majesty. And this cloud of beloved witnesses that has gone before me showers a heritage of bold faith. What place have I for timidity? What place have you as opportunities come and go? Are you opening His gifts in the wilderness?

January 22, 2012

Home. It's time. Early morning light streams golden warm across boot leather smooth... and my heart calls home. Through generations lived out, home catches tears of joy... tears of sorrow... they wash the view clear. They spill together upon this solid ground of family... and nourish life.

Home is where necks are hugged first and words are spoken second. It's where mom's bread rose full and tender in oven's glow. It's where the milkman delivered clear bottles of purest farm cream to the door, and corn stretched tall all around. It's where Grandma's potatoes sizzled in morning's skillet, and crisp emerald cucumbers soaked up summer flavor in crocks heavy. Mom's stitches gathered Sunday dress ruffles. Daddy would hoist me to his lap on the tractor. A white plank tree swing grew worn in the middle, arching high above tiger lily blooms nodding orange in slightest breeze. The bed of Daddy's '52 Chevy was the ladder for two little girls stretching on tip-toes to reach peaches plump with promise. Cattle called low across rolling pasture, and the sweet smell of spring hay filled my lungs with life breath.

December 18, 2011

"Come as you are. Follow your heart." Choir voices rise majestic upon orchestra's strings. With adoration we come. Joy... humility... awe... this is Christmas. Grace for every failing... this is Christmas. A no-matter-what kind of love... a heart laid open, willing to sacrifice everything in exchange for that which endures... this is Christmas.

December 08, 2011

While I am not sure why my Google feed seems to be publishing old posts, perhaps as winter settles, today was indeed a perfect day to revisit the contrast between winter's still and spring's vibrancy. For in the quiet of winter, when all seems dormant, newness begins. It is in the spring that we simply see so tender and lovely what was there all along... splendor waiting to bloom... treasured gift to be opened. And we realize it has always been.

Faith. Faith is seeing the beauty with our hearts before it springs to sight... before it is perfected... before it is full. Isn't the most miraculous sometimes witnessed in the intricate creation?

And in the waiting, the growing that is winter? As for us, 'tis laughter, snuggling and stories by the fire with plates full of cookies and mugs steaming with cider. Beneath blankets wrapped warm, dreams are whispered.

Are you seeing with your heart today... while delicate beauty waits but yours... to be treasured... nurtured in the quiet?

November 23, 2011

Isn’t that true of God’s every blessing? He shapes. He offers. He pours the radiance of His grace upon our most meager of offerings and comes forth the rare, the powerful, the long-to-be treasured. We laugh joy in our praise. We bow humble in quiet thanksgiving.

So many blessings. How do we begin to acknowledge fully? How do we number them? For I know so many... so many. But the greatest of these is love.

May 08, 2011

It was the day after Christmas and the kitchen counters were still lined with tiered plates and footed candy bowls offering sweet confections, towering over platters spread with cookies. My little man stood eyeing the dishes.

"Mama, what I'm really craving is your bread."

Sustenance. Basic. Familiar. Nourishing.

For a flash of a moment I was surprised. And then I smiled, knowingly. Warm memories rose in my senses as if the aroma of my mom's bread baking golden could be savored wafting through the kitchen. This singular aroma stirs tender thoughts of holidays, my mom, home.

So here comes my own little man quietly, wistfully seeking the basics. Amid the flurry of life, sometimes we just need the most simple of needs met. Isn't that what motherhood is really about? Nurturing our families through meeting their most basic, yet essential, needs?

April 29, 2011

I love you. The words tumble easily to those who hold our hearts. As the car door closes, as the phone call ends, as quilts draw up about shoulders and lights switch off... "I love you" spills naturally.

When spoken through years of days and moments, crests and valleys, "I love you" flows without hesitation. No break in stride. No lingering of eyes. No pause between sentences, nor change of inflection. We speak the treasured into the ordinary.

Yet these gems of words are so worthy of intention. Softened tone, warm cupping of the face, smiling eyes, fingers interlaced... and the world stops. For a split moment... nothing else exists, but the exchange of one heart for another... held fast in safekeeping.

April 23, 2011

The first pink glimmers of sunrise through the trees found me lingering in the the last words Jesus shared with his disciples. I wondered, as I have so many times before, who I would be among those involved in these hours of suffering. Who would I prove myself to be in the passion of the One who loved so completely?

I am grateful for a community of families with whom to share my heart. Journey with me at The Homeschool Village as I share about the hope that is Easter?

May your heart draw near to the One who gave you this life... who offers eternal life... by laying down His own. This One, He calls you child, knows your every desire, every thought, every dream, every fear. This One... He waits for your gaze upon His face, your hand in His own.

As the sun rises next, I pray you sing.

Susan

This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, 'Follow me.' John 21:19